Drexciya has always been more than just a music-project. Drexciya has always been music like an adventure. Because James Stinson and Gerald Donald created a mysterious under-water-universe, combining Afro-futuristic ideas with Kraftwerk’s clean and crisp sound aesthetics. Their music was fueled by driving back beats, riding high on the »Aquabahn«, on top of the coolest funk, cruising through futuristic soundscapes in order to explore the unknown widths of life below the sea level. It sure was a blessing when Clone started his endeavor to re-release the broad back-catalogue in form of the »Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller«-quadrology two years ago, especially when considering the rocket-high prices of the numerous records that the works had been scattered accross. However, there were a few – and, of course, crucial – pieces missing of the Drexciya-cosmos, namely the ones released on Tresor. Finally, the German corner stone of the Berlin-Detroit-axes has made a decent move and has decided not only to release the EP »Hydro Doorways« but also the 1999-debut by the two exceptional producers, called »Neptune’s Lair«. With its mental grooves, its crooked sound-aesthetics and its rummaging synth-parts, it’s Drexciya at its very best. And even though »Neptune’s Lair« might just be a small part of a much broader oeuvre, it still remains to be an essential record, of which the influence can hardly be overestimated. And while Donald has kept on wearing the badge of 90s-electro music (as one half of Dopplerefekt and solo as Arpanet) as well as the duo’s former tour manager, DJ Stingray (by still playing a kind of Detroit-techno-edge filled with acid-sprinklers), there are more and more sounds these days which are honoring the aqua-futuristic visions of Drexciya. It’s no surprise, really, considering that believing in a better, wonderful and somewhat absurd future never gets old – just like the music produced by Gerald Donald and James Stinson, who passed away in 2002, will never cease to enthuse.
Shining star
